It was 2015 when IBM’s Chairman, President and CEO Ginni Rometty said, “Data is the phenomenon of our time. It is the world’s new natural resource. It is the new basis of competitive advantage, and it is transforming every profession and industry.”
She couldn’t have been more right. The world continues its push to go digital in more areas than ever, with restaurants dropping employees for robots, self-driving cars set to take over roads and cryptocurrencies intensifying the war on cash. In doing so, every individual and institution running these and so many other networks are leaving perpetual trails of data everywhere. Some of the most impressive organizations, such as Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB) and Amazon (AMZN), are demonstrating that data really is the most valuable commodity in the market.
But Rometty’s words are even more prophetic than just predicting the increasing value of mass data. “If all of this is true– even inevitable –,” she followed her above remarks, “then cyber crime, by definition, is the greatest threat to every profession, every industry, every company in the world.”
Cyber Security’s Rise
While the groundbreaking developments in data and technology are in many ways exciting and breakthrough, they are simultaneously triggering mass exposure to unprecedented levels of cyber-danger proving costly and threatening to society. From email phishing and ransomware attacks to cloud vulnerabilities and data breaches, hackers are demonstrating their prowess. And with governmental bodies wrestling with talks of potential election interferences and mass technology firms losing grip of invaluable user data, these major institutions are emerging as clear targets by hacking groups. Thus, the demand for top-notch security is greater than ever.
To refresh your memory, here are some notable examples of cyber-warfare in recent history. This past September, major credit reporting company Equifax (EFX) was attacked and information on an unimaginable 148 million consumers was hacked. Flip back a couple years and recall when around 70 million debit and credit card numbers were stolen from Target (TGT). Uber has even been a recent victim too. As such, even the most “reliable” companies are proving vulnerable to cyber-damage.
To quantify the issue in broader terms, cybercrime is expected to cost companies $6 trillion in damages by 2021, which would double its 2016 impact. Further, leading research entity on global cyber economics Cybersecurity Ventures forecasts that worldwide expenditure on cybersecurity products and services will exceed $1 trillion in the coming years, reflecting the gravity of the current landscape and dire need for asset protection.
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